VISUAL GRAMMAR OF THE VIETNAMESE ADVERTISING DISCOURSE

Abstract

Vietnamese copywriters combine languages and images to convey the contents of advertisements to readers. However, the arrangement of images along with other non-linguistic factors follows certain rules due to cultural differences. The paper uses the theory of Kress and Leeuwen’s  (1996, 2006) visual grammar so as to find out how Vietnamese copywriters present the contents of advertisements to persuade the readers to buy advertised products or use advertised services. The findings from the layout analysis of  400 Vietnamese advertising posters indicated that the Vietnamese copywriters utilized three aspects of layout design such as framing, information value and salience to contribute to making meaning for the advertising discourse and language. The findings of the paper help clarify the application of theory of systemic functional linguistics, particularly visual grammar in daily communication and interdisciplinary studies. The findings are also beneficial to those who study image design together with language to construe meaning for the advertising discourse.